Stray shopping trolleys dumped a mile away from stores are making a residential area look run-down, say furious neighbours.

Metal carts from Sainsbury's, Home Bargains, M&S and The Range have been left in the Bockhanger and Kennington areas of Ashford.

All of the stores are based on the other side of the M20, sparking calls from residents for a blockade to be installed on the Eureka Skyway footbridge.

Ashford Borough Council (ABC) says it has asked the Trolleywise company, a collection team funded by retailers, to increase their patrols in the area.

But residents say more urgent action is needed as the issue is becoming an “absolute disgrace”.

Resident Wendy Pole says she sees “kids pushing the abandoned trolleys into cars”.

“It’s about time the stores installed a grill on the bridge to stop the trolley coming across,” she said.

Sarah Giles agreed, saying: “To whoever thinks it’s acceptable to bring shopping trolleys up to Bockhanger, can you either return them or dump them in your own gardens?”

Bockhanger representative Cllr Diccon Spain (Lab) says he raised the issue with ABC earlier this month.

“They are looking into this to see what can be done,” he said.

“In the meantime, please speak to the manager in relevant stores next time you go in to report it directly to them.

“It is a nuisance for residents and can be a bit of a hazard at night - it makes the area look run-down - and all residents deserve to live in a pleasant environment.”

An ABC spokesman added that if someone is caught dumping a trolley, they could be issued with a fixed penalty notice.

Last month, Canterbury City Council announced plans to fight “the plague” of shopping trolleys dumped in its rivers and streets by hitting supermarkets harder in the pocket.

Discarded trolleys in the district are collected by Canenco - the council’s waste management firm - and supermarkets are charged £82.50 if they collect them within six weeks.

If they do not reclaim the shopping cart within six weeks, CCC destroys it and charges £146.67 to the food store instead, but the authority is now considering upping its fines.

Cllr Spain added: “Other authorities seem to have adopted different approaches on this issue, and I think we need ABC to seriously consider these - watch this space.”

In a statement, Home Bargains said it is partnering with Trolleywise to reduce the number of abandoned shopping trolleys in all of its stores.

“Please be assured that we take this issue very seriously,” a spokesman said.

“Our team has spoken with Trolleywise to request it increase its patrols in the areas around our stores to collect abandoned trolleys to minimise the risk of our trolleys ending up abandoned.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesman confirmed the company works with a “specialist contractor to collect abandoned trolleys”.

“We ask anyone who sees one to report it on the Trolleywise website so we can retrieve it as soon as possible,” they added.